Saint Arsenios was born on September 29, 1910, in a small village in Romania to devout Orthodox parents, Joseph and Christina. His mother, while pregnant with the child John (his name before monasticism), always dreamed that the sun or the moon was shining above her belly, and she was always thinking about what this child might be.
His father died when John (St. Arsenios) was a child and his mother was forced to remarry. This second marriage troubled John greatly and he was away from home for long periods of time, which prepared him for the introduction of monks. Eventually, John entered the brotherhood of the monastery of St. Constantine Benkovono, under the name of Arsenios, where he patiently cultivated himself spiritually. He was enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit and was given the gift of foresight.
St. Arsenius became known as a confessor and spiritual guide. Everyone who met him felt that this father was able to enter and examine the depths of a person’s soul. He was able to reveal a person’s thoughts and many past sins and deeds. Moreover, he knew the names of people before meeting them and without having known them beforehand. Since he was ordained and blessed to receive confessions, he always revealed unconfessed sins and things that would happen.
He was always worried and troubled by the many who came to Him and confessed but refused to change their lives, choosing to continue to satisfy their desires. He knew that on the Day of Judgment He would be their guarantor of the salvation of their souls. So he hoped and begged God to reveal to Him the reason why these people refused to leave their sinful ways.
Saint Arsenius knew of his repose three years in advance, and told those around him that he still had three Easter seasons to celebrate. Indeed, he reposed in the Lord three years later. He predicted the fall of the communist establishment and the uprising of the Romanian people against the atheist regime, and soon after his prophecy, he reposed on November 28, 1989. The communist regime fell a month later, in December 1989. Saint Arsenius remained in the hearts of many of his spiritual children, continuing to guide them from above.
The saint was buried in the Prislop women's monastery, where the temperature is very low, reaching twenty degrees below zero. However, all the flowers that grew on his grave do not wither, freeze or die from the harsh cold, but remain fully blooming throughout the year, and the grave remains decorated with multi-colored and fragrant flowers. This miraculous phenomenon is one of the things that has attracted and continues to attract thousands of Christians to visit the tomb of this saint.
One of the visions of the saint
One day, as he was sitting on a garden bench contemplating the mountain opposite, he saw a large black cloud appear over the summit. There was a noise and agitation coming from within the cloud. As he gazed closer at the cloud, he saw that it had split in two and at the highest point of the mountain there was a royal crown surrounded by fire. On the crown sat the enemy of man, that is, Satan, surrounded by an army of demons. St. Arsenius was able to follow what was happening clearly. Thus he heard the devil say:
“Who among you is clever and intelligent enough to come up with some evil and cunning idea and whisper it into the ears of the people so that we can attract them and draw them to our side? In this way we can establish a kingdom greater than the kingdom of God, for we do not have much time left…”
Then a demon appeared and bowed down to his leader on the ground and said: “O absolute leader of darkness, I see it appropriate to whisper in the ears of the people that there is no God.”
Satan replied, “Your evil is not the greatest, because we can win more souls in another way. Let someone come up with another idea.”
Then a second came and said: “Excellent leader, I suggest that we whisper to them that God exists but that heaven and hell do not, and that their lives simply end at their graves.”
After much thought, Satan said, “This hateful idea is also not enough and will not qualify us to win many souls. People will remember that Christ said when He ascended to heaven: ‘In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, you may be also’” (John 14:2-3). Unfortunately, people’s faith in these words is so strong that it nullifies our plans. People will not stop believing that He will reward them all according to their deeds in life. Let someone else make another suggestion.”
Then a third one came forward and bowed to the ground before his leader, saying: “O most honorable leader of darkness, I suggest that it would be far better to praise the people for their belief in God, in the existence of heaven and hell, and for their hope in the final judgment. On the other hand, at the same time, whisper in their ears: ‘Do not rush to repentance and let it be the work of your last days. Death is not far away. But now, enjoy your pleasures, satisfy all your fleshly desires, for there is still much time left.’ Thus, while we are conducting our enticing magic, they will grow old without realizing it and reach the end of their lives before they can repent. Then death will suddenly arrive and find them unprepared and they will be ours forever.”
Then Satan nodded his head in approval. He roared and let out a long, sharp cry with devilish joy and with urgent eagerness he said to them all: “Hurry up, all of you, go and do exactly as your colleague has instructed.”
The saint interpreted this vision as this temptation being the motive that causes people to perform their Christian duties in a dull manner. The cunning demons whisper in their ears, throughout their lives, in a seductive way, directing them towards the joys of this life, and people obey, refusing to change their ways and continuing to satisfy their lusts and sinful nature, neglecting the Church’s guidance on true repentance, even in their old age…
May the prayers of this distinguished saint and tireless servant of God be with all of us sinners!
Prepared from English by Father Antoine Malki
